Lawyers for Luigi Mangione, the alleged shooter of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, asked to exclude key pieces of evidence, including the possible murder weapon and an apparent manifesto.
Mangione, 27, appeared alongside his attorneys for a pretrial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Monday.
Wearing regular clothes instead of his jail uniform, Mangione was inside the courtroom as fans stood outside the courthouse with signs or sashes that said “Free Luigi.”
Prosecutors played surveillance video of Thompson’s murder last year and Mangione’s arrest at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He took notes as the videos played.
Mangione’s defense team wants to strengthen its case before trial by tossing out evidence behind what it said was unconstitutional police conduct.
His lawyers argued that police illegally searched his backpack without a warrant after Mangione was apprehended in Pennsylvania. The backpack’s contents included a 9mm handgun, as well as a notebook in which Mangione expressed admiration for the “Unabomber” and described his intention to “wack” a health insurance executive.
Mangione also allegedly wrote in the notebook about his desire to rebel against “the deadly, greed-fueled health insurance cartel” and justified an insurance executive’s murder as “a greedy bastard that had it coming.”
If the gun and notebook are tossed, it would be a critical hit to the prosecution, who are hoping the notebook could prove Mangione’s motive and want to illustrate the gun as the possible murder weapon.
The officer in the bodycam footage of Mangione’s arrest can be heard saying he was searching the bag to make sure there “wasn’t a bomb” in it. Mangione’s lawyers said that was an excuse “designed to cover up an illegal warrantless search of the backpack.”
Mangione’s defense team also wants to suppress the statements he made during his arrest, such as his identification of himself as Mark Rosario, because the officers were asking him questions before informing him of his right to remain silent.
LAWYERS FOR LUIGI MANGIONE MOVE TO DISMISS DEATH PENALTY CHARGE IN FEDERAL CASE
Mangione’s lawyers successfully got state terrorism charges against him thrown out in September. However, federal prosecutors are still seeking the death penalty, and if convicted on his state charges alone, Mangione could spend life in prison.
He has pleaded not guilty to state and federal murder charges. The pretrial hearings could last more than a week, officials said, and Manhattan prosecutors have signaled they could call more than two dozen witnesses.